Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan on gene therapy, innovation, and the company pivot

ByKaren Weintraub

October 29, 2018

Novartis CEO Vas NarasimhanAlissa Ambrose/STAT

When the drug maker Novartis announced last month that it would cut 2,200 jobs, it framed the decision not as a retreat but as a restructuring. The goal, CEO Vas Narasimhan said, was to reshape the company to focus on “specialized and more personalized innovative medicines.”

Out with the company’s contact lens business, in with cancer immunotherapy.

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